A Right Royal Rescue

In January 1945, British aircraft attacked Japanese-held oil refineries in southeast Sumatra. It was a successful raid, but for two 21-year-olds it could have ended very badly. Shot down by a Japanese fighter, Roy 'Gus' Halliday and Norman 'Dickie' Richardson ended up in a leaking life raft considering the possibilities of shark activity in the area. Then HMS Whelp hove into view, and action. The rescue is remembered here by the two men and the first lieutenant of Whelp, HRH Prince Philip.